Category Archives: 1 Peter

And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.

1 Peter 1:17-18

Dear God, what does it mean to live in “reverent fear” of you? I think I have lived my life not as much fearing you as feeling a certain weight of accountability to you. I think that if any thought about you haunts me, it’s not a fear as much as it is a sense of, “How am I doing?”

Somewhere along the way in my life, I gained a great sense of duty. And, credit to my parents on this, I’m okay with submitting to authority. Even today, the nonprofit of which I’m the director will have board finance, executive, and fundraising committee meetings. People are going to be looking over my shoulder and seeing how I am doing, and I don’t mind. I think it’s appropriate. In fact, I get bothered and concerned if I perceive they aren’t doing it enough.

Well, I know you are doing it enough, and I know there are whole areas in my life in which I come up short—continuously. But that’s where verse 18 comes in, and I’m grateful I had a pastor when I was young who hammered home the idea of your love and grace. I don’t walk around feeling condemned by you for my failures, but welcomed by you to repent and move on.

Father, you know the current details of my life. From work, to family, to friends, to even my concerns about the world, I have a lot of living pieces about which I care. Please with your power and under your authority, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

1 Peter 2:2-3

Dear God, in my prayer time with my wife this morning I found myself praying for something I don’t think I’ve ever prayed before. Then I read this passage and it seemed to fit.

We are facing a couple of frustrating situations right now, and there are times when we want to just throw our hands up in anger and say, “Fine! Whatever!” and give up. So my prayer was that we would be able to move through these situations the best we ever have. That we would take this opportunity to seek your counsel and peace and really see what it means to live in communion with your spirit. We need to use these trials (and “trials” is overstated—the situations aren’t at that level) to grow and not miss this chance to grow closer to you.

Father, give me wisdom, discernment, mercy and grace. In fact, now that I think of it, all of the fruits of the spirit are exactly what I need right now: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. I need all of these right now. I look to you as my source of anything good that comes out of me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

1 Peter 3:15-17

Dear God, what a nice passage from Peter this is. And it seems pretty basic. Worship Christ as Lord. Be ready to explain your love for Him. Live as a good example.

I heard a woman this week make a passing reference to her broken marriage. It kind of made me wonder what happened along the way. I wonder this a lot about broken marriages. At one time, presumably, the couple was in “like,” in “infatuation,” and in “love.” But time went on. Offenses happened. Bitterness grew. Self pity took over. Then hopelessness. Now it’s just a peaceful (or maybe not so peaceful) coexistence. How many of those marriages could be saved by a little more mutual worship of Christ and living as a good example? In fact, I need to go ahead and order my favorite Christian marriage book today for the woman from this week. It really takes the idea of marriage back to how the individual is doing living for you.

Father, help me to worship you like I should, live as a good example that glorifies you, and then be ready to point others to you at any given time. You give me hope. You give me peace. You give me life. Thank you.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

1 Peter 1:6,13

Dear God, I have a family member right now who is facing some trials I have never faced. I am so concerned for her. I thought of her when I read this passage this morning. I know she has joy ahead. I know you have better things planned for her in her earthly future, and you have ultimate victory over evil planned for all of us later.

As I sit here and type this, I am remembering that I had several bad dreams last night. I remembered one or two of them immediately when I woke up (it was one of those times when I had to reorient myself to reality), and now I remember a couple more. I don’t normally have dreams like this so it is telling me how much my mind is wrapping around this situation.

Father, help me to prepare my mind for action and to exercise self control. I think that preparing my mind for action starts with praying to you about this and listening to your still small voice. What should I do? What should I not do? How can I help her? I’ll start with asking you to help and guide her. Give her your peace. Fill her with your joy. And please don’t make this suffering for nothing. Make it count so that she and others will, in the end, see the glory on the Lord!

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

1 Peter 3:18

Dear God, thank you. I’m not sure what else to do with this passage except to humbly accept your sacrifice and say thank you. Your sacrifice is what gives me, a Gentile, the privilege of sitting here this morning and praying to you. It’s what gives me hope through the darkest times, and reminds me to give of myself to others instead of only being out for myself. It’s my ultimate example for how I should consider my own life worth nothing compared with your will and what I can do to serve you.

Father, help me to live up to your gift today. Help me to love others richly, be productive in the work you have for me to do and live a life that draws others closer to you and into your presence.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.

1 Peter 2:15-16

Dear God, what do others see when they look at me? In my case, I almost wonder if they don’t somehow see someone who is better than I am. I get a lot of credit for my job, and I think people are prone to put me on too much of a pedestal. So I guess what I would ask on the other side of this passage is, what do I need to do to ensure that I am being vulnerable enough and showing my flaws so that my life can be useful to you in helping others?

For my part, I’ve learned more from David and Peter in the Bible than I’ve learned from Paul. I’ve learned more from the pastor who shares vulnerable stories about themselves than I’ve learned from pastors who only shared their holiness. I understand that this passage is about striving to be an example, but I have failed and will fail. I think I need to be about using those times to encourage others to deal with the flaws, tragedies, disappointments and sins in their own lives.

Father, to quote a song that I sometimes pray to you, make me a servant, humble and meek. Lord, let me lift up those who are weak. And may the prayer of my heart always be, make me a servant today.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.1 Peter 4:12-13

Dear God, so I really should consider it all joy? You know, I know I should. And I’ve tried to, but the fire can be very unpleasant. 

A few years ago, I was in excruciating pain–at least what I felt was excruciating. It was over family relationships (plural) and worrying about people I deeply loved. It was about being rejected by others for the core of who I am. It was about being betrayed by some on whom I had depended to support me. I would cry out to you. I would wondered what I should do next. And things are FAR from perfect now, but I did learn how to out a lot of it into perspective. And I am seeing hope in some of the relationships. 

I can say, however, that I believe the trials made me better. They have made me a more faithful disciple to you, although there were some years in there where I was so disappointed in what I felt were broken promises by you that I had trouble worshipping you regularly. They have made me more loving and accepting for those going through trials. And I think they have given me a place of authenticity from which I can encourage others. 

Father, I’m still not thrilled about what happened in that chapter of my life, and I don’t know where the issuers that remain unresolved are going, but I choose to coder it joy. I choose to be grateful for you. And I choose to have faith that all things will work together for your glory and my good. 

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.1 Peter 5:8-9

Dear God, it is hard to stay alert. It is hard to think about the things I cannot see. I have a hard enough time just trying to decipher a current situation and what you might be doing through it, but to add on top of it the idea of being continually alert feels almost impossible. 
But that is where your power and Holy Spirit come in, I suppose. That is where community and relationship come in. It is truly not good for man to be alone. I’m learning that more and more. For those who live completely alone…well, I can see that if I were alone and isolated I wouldn’t make nearly as good of decisions as I would with a spouse or roommate/ friend helping me go through life. 
Father, help me to stay continually alert, and help my friends and family who are alone to be in rich community. Love them. Honor them. Give them a vision for their own lives. Guide them through friends, pastors, and family members. Strongly support them. 
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen 

You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.1 Peter 1:22-25

Dear God, yesterday, I talked about the different ways your word is communicated to us. So how do I communicate that word to others around me?
I was telling a friend yesterday about some people experiencing difficult times who had come across my path recently and how we can tend to build lives that are insulated from seeing others’ pain, and he asked me a convicting question: Did you offer to pray with them? The answer was worse than my response. My response was, “No.” but the real answer is, “Not only did I not offer to pray with them, but I also didn’t pray for them later.” So I didn’t do much to spread your word to them that day. 
Father, there is so much I miss. I’m distracted. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed. I’m sorry for that. So I pray right now for the three women about whom I spoke with my friend. I pray for the people with whom I will come into contact today. Spread your peace and healing into their lives. Share the Good News with them through me. Make me your humble representative. Use me how you will. 
In Jesus’s name I pray,
Amen 

1 Peter 1:3-7 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

Dear God, I think it is always important for us to remember the lesson from Job–out life circumstances have little to do with youth favor or disfavor. In fact, since going through Job, I have stopped using the phrase “blessed” when talking about if I am doing well or if something good happens for me. The truth is, if something good happens I don’t know if it is part of your design or not. You are the giver of all good gifts, true, but your definition of a good gift and my definition of a good gift are probably different, so I should be careful about ascribing things to you. I think it gives others a bad example as they try to work out their own faith and separate your favor from their life circumstances. 

I had someone that I’ve only known for a couple of days tell me something kind about me and my disposition. She even remarked on my voice. I was flattered, but it made me wonder if, in the two days I have known her and her husband, have I used enough opportunities to let them know that anything good flowing OUT of me comes from you? If I am going to be experiencing something like the trip my wife and I are on, am I doing enough to reveal your power and glory to those around me?

Father, Peter talks about our final reward. Help me to embrace more and more the idea that you are there for us, you are good, and I can believe that regardless of what is happening around me. Help me to also be there for my wife. Help me to be the husband and friend she needs me to be. Use me on this trip not in isolation, but as part of the couple that you have made us to be. We are not your ambassadors as individuals, but also as two people who are one. Help us to live that out.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen